Means for attaching objects to concrete and the like



MEANS FOR ATTACHING OBJECTS TO CONCRETE AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 2, 1952March 1955 R. c. PORTOUW ET AL 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS ROBERT C.PORTOUW RICHARD BY FARNSWORTH ATTORNEY March 1955 R. c. PORTOUW ET AL2,702,902

MEANS FOR ATTACHING OBJECTS TO CONCRETE AND .THE LIKE Filed Jan. 2, 19524 Sheets-Sheet 2 ROBERT C. PORTOUW EICHARD FARNSWQRTH ATTORN EY March1955 R. c. PORTOUW ET AL 2,702,902

MEANS FOR ATTACHING OBJECTS TO CONCRETE AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 2, 19524 Sheets-Sheet 3 IO N INVENTORS ROBERT C PORTOUW i ICHARD FARNSWORTHATTORNEY March 1, 1955 R. c. PORTOUW ET AL 2,702,902

MEANS FOR ATTACHING OBJECTS TO CONCRETE AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 2, 19524 Sheets-Sheet 4 T B w w 2 cu m I I A I.

. IN V EN TORS ROBERT C. PORTOUW EJCHARD FARNSWORTH ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent MEANS FOR ATTACHING OBJECTS TO CONCRETE AND THE Robert C.'Portonw and Richard Famsworth, Portland, 0mg, assignors to Powder PowerTool Corp, Portland, Oreg., a corporation of Oregon Application January.2, 1952,:SeriaLNo. 264,518

Claims. v(Cl. l-1--44.5.)

"including devices utilizing explosively-actuated elements, whereby obects, such as, for "example, "sacks containing demolition charges, maybe satisfactorily secured to concrete wallsjbridge piers, ,etc. Inasmuchas explosively-acmated elements or projectiles, which are customarilydriven into "the solid mass of concrete or'masonry .to'serve as securingmembers, are limited in cross sectional diameter to the bore of thegunbarrel'fromwhichthey are dis- -'charged,when articles such as sacks'arereguired tube at- ;tached to concrete surfaces through "themediumofsuch projectiles, it is necessary to provide some companion vfaslteningmember oreler'n ent .inorder to prevent the sack or other article fromslipping off "the enibedded projectile or to prevent the projectile"from passing entirely through such'object when becoming embeddedin theconcrete.

An-object of the present invention accordingly is to provide a pair of.suitablecooperatin'g fastening elements, one of'whic'h will constitute.the customary explosivelydriven projectile and the other of whichwillengage the headof such projectile asithe proj'ectile passes through theobject to be secured "to the concrete and will thus combine *with theprojectile head in holding theadjacentportion of such object firmlypressed against the concrete surface and in preventing the object fromslipping olfthe head of the embeddedprojectile.

Another object :of the invention is to provide improved means bywhichand "froin'which both of such cooperating fastening elements will ..bedelivered as required for attachment ;to a concrete or other masonrymass.

Azrelatedobject of the invention is "to provide an im- ,proved devicewhich will include agp'air of magazines conltaining supplies of .saidcooperating fastening elements respectively and means causing suchelements "to be discharged from the device "together-r .Afurth'erandmorespecificobject isto provide an improved impact tool by which awasherjlilte fastening ment will automatically 'beposi'tioned axially inthe path .of the projectile fastening element prior to the moment whenthe latter is actuated by .the explosive discharging [Iorce'andwvherebyboth fastening elements will thus leave the impact tool'together to besecured in desired relationship and in desired position on the concreteor masonry :wall. 4

The manner in which these objects and'oth'erincidental advantages areattained through our invention will'be explained inthe course of thefollowingdescription inwh'ich reference is made to theza'ccompanyingdrawings.

'In'the drawings:

Fig. l is"a perspective view'of the entire apparatus used in.carryingout our invention; p

. Fig. 2 is in part-a side elevation 'anrlinpart a longitudinalsectional elevation of the apparatus illustrating "the relative'position of some of-the'partswhen the apparatus is in'the normal orinactive position; i v

T ig. 3 'is a corresponding elevation, partly insection, illustratingthe relative position :of some ofithe parts when "the apparatus ispositioned and setf-for operation;

Fig. t is a corresponding elevation, partly in section, showingtheapparatus positioned and 'setifor operation;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 "of Fig. '2 showing-the normal "positionof *t'he' lowe'rmost cylindricalwasher-like.

'lastenerwhenthe apparatus'is in inope'rati-ve-nositioni 2,702,902Patented .Mar. .1 1955 Fig. 6 is a corresponding section on line 6-6 ofFigs. 3 and 4 showing such cylindrical washer-like fastener positionedfor engagement by the projectile 'in anticipation of the firing of theapparatus;

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7- 7 of 'Fig. '2;

Fig. '8 is a perspective view of one of the cylindrical Washer-likefasteners;

Fig. 9 is a perspectiveyiewof the removable magazine for the cylindricalwasher-'likeiasteners;

Fig. 10 is a perspective'viewof the positioning member for thewasher-like fasteners;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective :view of the muzzle end of the gunbarrel portion of the apparatus on which the positioning member of Fig.I0 is mounted and by which it is actuated, and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary .section'al elevation of a .concrete wallillustrating the top of a sack secured thereto by the cooperating"fastening elements dischargcdtromour apparatus.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to -4;inclusive, our apparatus comprises agun-likedevice "which includes .:an outer hou sing or casting comprisinga main cylindrical portion 10, an adjoining smaller substantiallycylindricalpor'tion 11, a hollow flattened handle portion .12, .andmuzzle end flange '13. A base casting "14 is attahedto thefflange '13 bysuitable screws. A trigger "handle cap 15 "is movably mounted on theopposite 'end of the housing 10. .A "gun barrel member 16 isslidablyiand non-frotatively mounted in the'housing 10, thismember-including "a forward gunbarrel portion '18 having an outerdiameter substantially less than the interior diameterof the housing"10, and a rearward, enlarged breech portion I9 having an outer diameterapproximately equal to the interior diameter of the housing It). H

The handle 12 functions in the usual manner as a cartridge magazine andthe cartridges arefed into the breech portion 19 in the usual mannerhyItlre'usual .bre'ech block or bolt havinga handle fitmovab'lethrough theusualsslot 36 in the housing 10. It will be iunderstood'jthat theifeedi-ng o'f acartridge ,and-ejection'of ashell, wliiehformsno part ofthis .invention, is eifectedinithe sam'efgeneral manner as in the.ordinary breech-"boltfifie mechanism. It will also :be understood that.a cartridge loaded in the breech portion 19 may be'fired 'by movement-.o'f the trigice ,gerhandlecap 15 byanydesired mechanism, whichdikewise .forms no part of theprcsentjnvention.

.Acoil spring 43 (Figs. 2 :and 3,) iszmounted on .thegunbarrel 18. Oneend .of ttherspring 313 hearsagainst rating 44 which is firmly securedon the ,gun barrl, :and the opposite end of the spring-43 bears againstaperztured ring 45 through which the barrel may :slide which in .turn isengaged by :a substantially Isl-shaped retainer '46 mounted in .a slotin the housing '10 (see:"also;Fig. .1 land which extends inward-1yaround zt-wo sides of the gunbarrel. Thus the spring 43 normally biasesthe housing and the gun-barrel longitudinally.relatively with respect toeach other in the position illustrated :in Fig. .2, or with :the housingmoved to the :left in its position -.with respect to the gun-barrelrasviewed inEig; .2.

The housing section 1111 (Figs. T l to '4 inclusive) has a cylindricalinterior which :leads into aichamber .14 :in the base casting 14. Theopposite 'en'd of tthe i housing section 1-1 is open to receive .a:cylindricalrmagazine 4.7 (see also 'Fig. 9) in which :a supply-ofwasher-like fasteners '48 "(:aFigure 8) is carried. The purposeJ-dffthes'e washerdike taste'ners is to enable the-objects which are to besecured to the concrete wall or other surface in) he held overaTlargerarea than that presented by the projectile hea'd itself. This isillustrated in Fig. 12 inwhi'dh it is assumed that the "top ofa 'sackSis "requiredto be secured on-a concrete wall W. The projectile P, "whendischarged from the apparatus, passespar'tway throngh one of the'washerlike fasteners &8 before becoming embedded in theco'ncrete. 'Thewashe-rdike fastener 48 and the projectile P combine in securing thesack in place' over a stifficien'tly large area to prevent anypossibility of the sack sumavertently slipping o'lf from the projectile.

The magazine 47, as shown in Fig. 2, is, provided with a coil spring 49,one end dFwhlch-pres'sesagainst the closed top end 47' of the magazine-47 and the other end of which engages a slidable pusher 50 which urgesthe washer-like fasteners 48 towards the discharging end of the magazineand into the chamber 14'. The top or closed end 47 of the magazine 47has a pair of fingerhold flanges 51 (see Figs. 7 and 9) to aid inremoving the magazine from housing 11 when the magazine needs refilling.A slidable detent 52 (Fig. 7) holds the magazine removably in place inhousing 11. A longitudinal rib 53 on the magazine 47 engages a slot inthe housing 11 so as to insure the proper setting of the magazine inplace in the housing.

In order to hold the washer-like fasteners 48 in the magazine 47 whenthe magazine is being loaded and before it is set in place in thehousing 11, a fiat spring 54 (Figs. 2 and 9) extends longitudinally overan open slot at the bottom of the magazine 47, and this spring 54carries a knob 55 on its inner face, which knob is adapted to engage anannular groove in the lowermost washer-like fastener 48 in the magazine.However, when the magazine 47, with its supply of washer-like fasteners,is inserted in place in the housing 11, a wedge shaped finger 56 (Fig.2) on the inner end of an arm at the bottom of the housing 11, engagesthe end of the flat spring 54 and presses it outwardly so that the knob55 no longer engages a washer-like fastener 48 in the magazine. Thispermits the bottom washer-like fastener in the magazine to be pushedinto the chamber 14' of the base cast ing 14 under the force of thepusher and coil spring 49. A small hole 57 (Figs. 3 and 4) in thehousing 11 adjacent the base casting 14 and a registering hole (notshown) in the magazine 47, enable a portion of the pusher 50 (Fig. 2) tobe seen when the supply of washer-like fasteners in the magazine 47 hasbeen exhausted and the magazine needs refilling. A bright colored markpreferably is placed on a portion of the outside wall of the pusher 50so that it may more easily be distinguished in the registering holes ofmagazine 47 and housing 11.

A spool-shaped washer-positioning member 59 (shown most clearly in Fig.10 and also shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5) is rotatably and slidably mountedon the muzzle end of the gun barrel 18. A stationary ring 60, secured inplace on the interior wall of the housing (Figs. 2 and 3), prevents themember 59 from moving further inwardly within the housing 10. A spiralslot 61, extending along member 59, is engaged by a pin 62 (Fig. 11) onthe gun barrel 18. As a result, longitudinal or axial movement of thehousing 10 with respect to the gun barrel 18 produces partial rotationof the member 59.

A hook-shaped arm 63 is rigidly secured to the outer or bottom annularface of member 59 This arm 63 extends over and rides on a flat shoulder64 in the chamber 14' of the base casting 14. The side wall of shoulder64 is shaped as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and is formed in a reverse curve,both parts of which have a radius of curvature corresponding to theradius of the washerlike fasteners 48. The height of the chamber 14 inthe base casting 14 is approximately equal to the thickness of awasher-like fastener 48, and the height of the shoulder 64 isapproximately half that of the chamber 14'. Thus as each Washer-likefastener 48 is delivered into chamber 14' from the magazine 47 it isengaged by the arm 63 when this arm is caused to move as a result ofpartial rotation of the member 59.

The base casting 14 has a circular outlet opening 65 (Figure 2) locatedin axial alignment with the cylindrical inner wall of the housing 10 andin axial alignment with the gun barrel, and this outlet opening 65 has adiameter slightly greater than the diameter of the washer-like fasteners48. When the housing 10 is moved longitudinally on the gun barrel fromthe position of Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 3, the movement of thehousing and the member 59 with respect to the gun barrel producespartial rotation of the member 59 as previously explained, and causesthe arm 63 to move from the position in Fig. 5 to the position in Fig.6. In so doing the arm 63 moves a washer-like fastener 48 from itsposition as first delivered into chamber 14' from the magazine 47 (thusthe position in Fig. 5) into registration with the outlet opening 65 inthe base casting 14, whereupon the center hole 48' of the washer-likefastener will then be axially aligned with the bore of the gun barrel. Aspring member 75 in chamber 14 aids in this positioning of thewasher-like fastener and in bringing it into.

desired registration.

A push bar 66 (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6) has its shank slidably mounted ina slot 72 (Fig. 2) -in the housing 10. A spring member 71, attached atone end to housing 10, covers the slot 72 and carries a pin 74 whichengages a slot 73 in the push bar shank in order to limit the relativelongitudinal movement of the push bar and housing with respect to eachother. The enlarged end of the push bar 66 passes through a slot 68(Fig. l) in the base casting 14, which slot extends along the outletopening 65. A lip 67 on the push bar engages a notch 69 on the end ofthe gun barrel, and a notch 70 on member 59 accommodates the lips 67when the housing 10, and with it the member 59, are moved from left toright (as viewed in Figure 2) on the gun barrel. Such movement of thehousing 10 with respect to the gun barrel causes the gun barrel to beentirely out of the way when a washer-like fastener 48 is being movedinto position at the muzzle end of the gun barrel.

At the start of operations, the housing and gun barrel are in therelative position illustrated in Figure 2, being normally held in thisrelative position by the spring 43. To load the apparatus, thebreech-block is operated by its handle 31, like the breech-block of arifle, to insert a cartridge into the breech portion 19. When thecartridge is loaded in the gun barrel, the next step in preparing theapparatus for firing is to thrust the housing forwardly or to the rightwith respect to the gun barrel against the force of spring 43. This isaccomplished bv bringing the outer end of the push bar 66 against theobject and the concrete wall, or other surface to which the object is tobe secured, and thrusting the entire apparatus against such object andwall until the face of the base casting 14 rests against the object.This thrusting of the housing forwardly or to the right on the gunbarrel brings the apparatus into the position illustrated in Fig. 3 andthis movement of the housing with respect to the gun barrelsimultaneously produces partial rotation of the member 59 as previouslyexplained, and consequently causes a washer-like fastener 48 to be movedin position at the muzzle end of the gun barrel and into axial alignmentwith the bore of the gun barrel. Whilethe apparatus is held in thisposition, with the housing pressed forwardly against the force of spring43, the trigger handle cap 15 is turned with respect to the housing andgun barrel so as to move a trigger hammer and permit it to drop on tothe end of a firing pin and explode the cartridge.

An important feature of our apparatus is that it can not be fired untilthe housing is thrust forwardly on the gun barrel by having the push bar66 and outer face of the base casting 14 pressed against the object tobe secured and can not be fired until such thrusting of the housingforwardly has automatically caused one of the washer-like fasteners 48from the magazine to be set in position in the path of the projectile tobe discharged.

The washer-like fasteners 48 which we employ are preferablyapproximately /2 inch in thickness, although of course fasteners ofother thicknesses could be used provided corresponding modification ismade in our device. The center hole 48' in these Washer-like fastenersis made smaller than the head of the projectile, as shown, in order thatthe head of the projectile can not pass entirely through the fastenerbut will become embedded in the fastener in the manner shown in Fig. 12.We have found it very satisfactory to make these washer-like fastenersof aluminum since such aluminum fasteners are light in weight and whenmade in the thickness suggested will cause the projectile to stop whenthe head of the projectile has passed approximately half way through thefastener. As a result, an article to be secured to the concrete will beheld firmly on the projectile and tightly pressed between the concretesurface and the cooperating washerlike fastener.

Various modifications could be made in the washer like fasteners whichwe employ and in the projectiles and also in the separate parts of ourapparatus without departing from the principle of our invention, and itis not our intention to limit the invention otherwise than as set forthin the claims.

While we have described our device as employed for the purpose ofattaching objects, such for example as sacks containing demolitioncharges, to concrete, and the principal uses of our device will be ininstances when concrete is the material to which objects are to beattached, our invention is of course not limited to such use. Our

device may be employed similarly for attaching objects to wood, such aswooden piers, and to other materials softer than concrete. Therelatively thick washer-like fasteners are additionally important whenarticles are to be attached to a softer medium such as wood. Theexplosivelyactuated projectile, without the washer-like fastener, wouldin all probability become so deeply embedded in the wood that the headof the projectile would be sunk below the surface of the wood and beuseless as a fastening means. The thick washer-like fastener howeverprevents this and keeps the head of the projectile from passing into thewood.

We claim:

1. In a device of the character described for securing a washer-likefastening element to a mass of material by an explosively-drivenprojectile, a housing having a main channel, a gun barrel in saidhousing channel, a compartment on said housing for a plurality of saidwasherlike elements, a chamber on the end of said housing extending overthe end of said channel and opening into said compartment, the outerwall of said chamber having a discharge opening in axial alignment withsaid channel, said housing being mounted for limited sliding movement onsaid gun barrel with the gun barrel muzzle extending through saidchamber and discharge opening when said housing is in normal position atone extreme of its movement with respect to said gun barrel and withsaid chamber positioned beyond the gun barrel muzzle at the otherextreme of its movement with respect to said gun barrel, said dischargeopening being of slightly greater diameter than said washer-likeelements, spring means for holding said housing in normal position withrespect to said gun barrel, a gun barrel-engaging bar extending throughsaid outer wall of said chamber and extending beyond the muzzle end ofsaid gun barrel and so arranged and mounted that when the outer end ofsaid bar is pressed against a surface said housing can be pushedforwardly on said gun barrel against the force of said spring meansuntil said chamber is positioned beyond the muzzle end of said gunbarrel, and means in said chamber actuated by said forward movement ofsaid housing with respect to said gun barrel for automatically movingone of said washer-like elements into position over said muzzle end andin axial alignment therewith so as to cause said washer-like element tobe engaged by the explosivelydriven projectile when the device is fired.

2. In a device of the character described for securing a washer-likefastening element to a mass of material by an explosively-drivenprojectile, a housing having a main channel, a gun barrel in saidchannel, a magazine on said housing for supporting a plurality of thewasher-like elements, a compartment in said housing and in communicationwith said magazine, a chamber on the end of said housing extending overthe end of said channel and opening into said compartment, a dischargeopening in the outer wall of said chamber in axial alignment'with saidchannel, said housing being mounted for limited sliding movement on saidgun barrel with the gun barrel muzzle extending through said chamber anddischarge opening when said housing is in normal position at one extremeof its movement with respect to said gun barrel and with said chamberpositioned beyond the gun barrel muzzle at the other extreme of itsmovement with respect to said gun barrel, said discharge opening beingof slightly greater diameter than said washer-like elements, springmeans for holding said housing in said normal position with respect tosaid gun barrel, means connected with said gun barrel and enabling saidhousing to be moved forwardly with respect to said gun barrel againstthe force of said spring means until said chamber is positioned beyondsaid muzzle end, and means in said chamber actuated by said movement ofsaid housing with respect to said gun barrel for automatically movingone of said washer-like elements into position over said muzzle end andin axial alignment therewith so as to cause said washer-like element tobe engaged by the explosively-driven projectile when the device isfired.

3. Ina device of the character described for securing a washer-likefastening element to a mass of material by an explosively-drivenprojectile, a housing having a main channel, a gun barrel in saidchannel, a compartment in said housing for a plurality of saidwasher-like elements, a chamber on the end of said housing extendingover the end of said channel and opening into said compartment, adischarge opening in the outer wall of said chamber and in axialalignment with said channel, said housing being mounted for limitedsliding movement on said gun barrel with the gun barrel muzzle extendingthrough said chamber and discharge opening when said housing is innormal position on said gun barrel, means enabling said gun barrel to beheld against forward movement when said housing is slid forwardly onsaid gun barrel until said chamber is positioned beyond said muzzle end,and means in said chamber actuated by said forward movement of saidhousing on said gun barrel for automatically moving one of saidwasher-like elements intoposition over said muzzle end and in axialalignment therewith so as to cause said washer-like element to beengaged by the explosively-driven projectile when the device is fired.

4. In a device of the character described for securing a washer-likefastening element to a mass of material by an explosively-drivenprojectile, a. housing, a gun barrel in said housing, said housing andsaid gun barrel being longitudinally movable relatively to each other toa limited extent, a compartment in said housing for a plurality of saidwasher-like elements, a chamber on the end of said housing and openinginto said compartment, a discharge opening in the outer wall of saidchamber, the muzzle end of said gun barrel extending through saidchamber and discharge opening when said housing and said gun barrel arein their normal position with respect to each other, means enabling saidhousing and said gun barrel to be moved relatively with respect to eachother until said chamber is positioned beyond said muzzle end, and meansin said chamber actuated by said relative movement of said housing withrespect to said gun barrel for automatically moving one of saidwasher-like elements into position in front of said muzzle end and ,inaxial alignment therewith so as to cause said washer-like element to beengaged by the explosively-driven projectile when the device is fired.

5. In a device of the character described for securing a washer-likefastening element to a mass of material by an explosively-drivenprojectile, a gun barrel, a housing mounted for limited axial movementfrom normal into forward extended position on said gun barrel, means onsaid housing for supporting said washer-like element, and means in saidhousing and actuated by the movement relative to the gun barrel of saidhousing into said forward extended position for automatically movingsaid washerlike element into position over the muzzle end of said gunbarrel and in axial alignment therewith so as to cause said Washer-likeelement to be engaged by the explosively-driven projectile when thedevice is fired.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,395,354 Temple Feb. 19, 1946

